Clean Break
by bite-me-im-irish
Summary: Aria and Ezra just can't stay away from each other, but can Aria ever really forgive him for lying? Set post 4x20/21.
1. Chapter 1

**I started this yesterday after the idea got stuck in my head. I hope you guys like it.**

**I should mention, that although this story is set after 4x20, it doesn't really have any mention of what is happening with Ali or A. It's more about Aria processing the fact that Ezra had lied so much.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Four weeks and three days after Ezra's lies had come out, Aria found herself standing outside of apartment 3b. She hadn't been there since she trashed the place, and she wasn't even that sure why she had come at all.

Three quick raps on the door and a very surprised looking Ezra later, she was sitting on his leather couch. She surveyed the room whilst Ezra changed out of his pyjamas in the bathroom. He had replaced the glass on the his shelves and bought a new lamp, his big television was gone from the bedroom area leaving the television stand empty and the giant poster she had ripped down was back on the wall (she could see several pieces of sticky tape had been used to hold it together). She knew that she should feel guilty for smashing his apartment but he smashed her heart.

Ezra returned then and sat down opposite her. Neither person knew if they should speak first. Eventually, Ezra took the lead.

"Why are you here?" He questioned, "I thought you hated my guts."

"I don't know how to hate you," Aria replied honestly, relaying a term which had been making its way around her head for the past few weeks. She saw the hope in his eyes and quickly spoke again. "I want to though." Ezra nodded.

"I don't blame you," he told her, "But you still haven't told me why you're here."

"I need answers."

"Ask me anything, I'll tell you the truth," he said just as he had the previous year when their biggest problem was Jackie working at Hollis with him.

"Did you love Alison?"

"No," he answered immediately. "We only dated a couple of weeks until I found out she wasn't nineteen like she said. I ended things immediately."

"Did you sleep with her?"

"No. We... Did other stuff but I never slept with her."

Aria didn't want to know what other stuff meant. She asked her next question.

"If she comes back, are you going to go back to her? The age gap is the same as between you and me. You loved her first."

"I didn't love her, Aria. And no, never. We-" he shook his hand back and forth between them. "- are too important. I don't know if I'll ever fall out of love with you." Aria felt the knot in her stomach loosen somewhat."

"When exactly did you stop writing the book? Your journal made it seem like you never stopped."

Ezra sighed and rubbed his palms together. He didn't want to tell this story but he knew that if he wanted any chance of getting back together then he would have to.

"When I went to New York without telling you back at the very beginning, that's when I stopped writing it. But I couldn't stop being fascinated by the story, especially when I saw the A message on your phone. I kept a journal of everything as I tried to keep figuring out the murder, or apparent murder. I never intended to do anything with it unless I found something substantial." Tears had begun to fall down Aria's cheeks and he fought the urge to reach across and brush them away. He hated himself for doing this to her and would give anything to change it.

"So you were still using me," Aria accused, "Even if - if y-you weren't writing the book, you used my trust in you to find Ali."

"I love you," Ezra told her, "I never wanted to hurt you like this."

"You said that you started writing it again when we broke up," she cut across, ignoring his confession of love, "You know how much it would have hurt me when you got it published. How could you do that to me?"

"I was obsessed with the story," he confessed.

Aria chuckled dryly, "No, Ezra. Don't pretend you weren't under the Ali spell. You weren't obsessed with the story, no, you were obsessed with _her_." She saw him gulp and suddenly felt ill. She ran to the bathroom and heaved, throwing up her breakfast and morning coffee into the bowl. It was the second time in two days that she had vomited.

"Are you sick?" Ezra asked. He was holding back her hair. Aria slapped his hands away, perhaps a little too viciously.

"A little," she told him, picking up her toothbrush from beside the sink and cleaning her teeth quickly. She wondered why Ezra had kept it. "I, um, took something."

She spat out the white foam and rinsed her mouth before returning to the couch. Ezra followed her out of his small bathroom and sat down opposite her once more.

"What do you mean you 'took something'?" He questioned, a look of concern on his face.

Aria blushed and looked away, "I took the morning after pill a few days ago."

Ezra felt his blood run cold and he suddenly found himself feeling queasy. She has slept with somebody? Who? When? And why did she need to take the pill? Was it unprotected?

"Who was he?" Ezra asked through gritted teeth. Aria felt like she had cheated and had to remind herself that it was he who had committed the unforgivable acts, not her.

"It's not really any of your business," she told him, daring him to say otherwise. Ezra forced himself to remain calm but it was proving rather difficult.

"We haven't even been apart a month," he stated, "And you're already fucking somebody else? Is it Jake? Are you back together?"

Aria just stared at him, unable to believe her ears. He had lied to her, used her, manipulated her, and now he was trying to take the high road?

"Who do you think you are?" She shouted, standing up and pulling on her coat, "Who are you to reprimand me for who I choose to sleep with? News flash Ezra: _this_," she pointed at the ground, "This is _your_ fault. Everything that is happening is because of you and your lies and now you're trying to make me feel bad? Trying to make me out as the bad person hen you were the one who has been lying to me for as long as you've known me? You called Ali a liar, but what are you? You're a hypocrite, Ezra." Ezra stood up too, looking apologetic but Aria was having none of it. "The man I thought you were wouldn't want anything to do with _this_ you. And do you know what? Neither do I." She took a step forward and stared him straight in the eye. "I hate you," she spat.

Ezra winced, "You said you didn't know how to hate me."

"Yeah well, you sure proved me wrong. You make me sick."

Aria made her way to the door before turning around, startled to see tears falling down Ezra's face. She refused to feel sorry for me.

"Coming here was a mistake," she said, "_We_ were a mistake."

* * *

It was a week later when Ezra and Aria next spoke. He was supervising detention and Aria, having once again broken the school dress code by wearing dangerous objects for jewellery, had landed herself with a two hour session courtesy of Mrs Welch. They were the only people there.

"Aria," Ezra spoke up after twenty minutes of the pair sitting in stony silence. She didn't acknowledge him. "Aria please talk to me." She continued to stare pointedly at her nails. "Oookay," he drawled, "I guess I'll just talk." No response.

"I am so sorry, Aria, for everything." He walked up to her desk and sat in the seat of the one in front of it. It was not much different to how they had sat in his classroom all those months ago discussing their future as a couple. _We move forward together_. "I know I sound like a broken record but I really never meant to hurt you. When I saw you, yes, it was because I wanted information on Ali that I struck up a conversation with you but we never even talked about her, Aria. You fascinated me all on your own. I think I fell in love with you then but it just took me a little while to admit it to myself." He watched Aria carefully but she gave no indication of having heard him. He sighed and continued.

"I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you the other day. I was just jealous. I hate the idea of you with anybody else and it's going to take me a long time to accept that this is our reality." His eyes were burning and he felt his nose sting as he tried to hold back tears. "I love you, Aria, and will spend the rest of my life regretting hurting you like this. Even if you hate me, even if you never want to see me again, I just need you to know that you are the best thing to have ever happened to me and probably the best thing that _will_ ever happen to me. Had this worked out differently, if I hadn't met Ali or if I had never started that stupid book, I would have married you, Aria."

Aria looked up and he watched the tears trickle down her face at his words.

"I don't know what was real and what was fake," she hiccupped. Ezra felt his own tears begin to fall as he looked at the broke girl in front of him. "I don't know where _my_ Ezra ends and _this_ Ezra begins." He winced at the term "this Ezra", knowing that it meant she still thought of him as the man who had lied to her.

"Remember what I told you once?" He asked gently, "What you and I have is the most real and honest thing in my life. It was all real, Aria. I swear to you now."

He reached across and wiped the tears off of Aria's face, thankful that she didn't move away from his grasp. He could have sworn that she leant slightly into his touch. He knew better than to try and kiss her.

"I know I have no right to even ask you this," he spoke after a few minutes, "But it's killing me to not have you in my life." Aria's hazel eyes met his as he spoke. "Could we... Try, at least, to be friends?"

"I can't let myself love you anymore," Aria told him, "But I can try friends."

* * *

Transitioning from lovers to strangers and then to friends was a confusing one, but in the next couple of weeks Aria and Ezra found themselves being happier than they had been in a long time.

They had coffee every few days before school and Aria had come over for dinner and a film twice. They had to watch the film on his laptop seeing as Aria had completely smashed his tv but he didn't mind that much because it meant that she had to sit closer to him.

They got into several arguments during their time together regarding his lies and betrayal, but Aria was learning to forgive him - or at least, she was learning to live with it.

During the time they spent together, she avoided touching him at all costs by keeping her arms folded during films and never stealing food from his plate like she used to. He tried not to be hurt by her reluctance but knew that this had to be at Aria's pace. If she wanted to remain at the 'friends only' level then he would let her.

He could only hope and pray that one day she would fall in love with him again.

* * *

"Aria. Arriiaaa. Wake up, Pookie Bear."

Aria groaned as Ezra tried to rouse her from her sleep. She had fallen asleep half way through Chinatown _again_ and now that the credits were rolling it was time for her to head home lest Byron figure out where she was. They had decided to keep their friendship a secret for now. Aria knew that the girls wouldn't approve her spending time with Ezra and Ezra just wanted Aria to be happy. He was grateful for any time he got to spend with her.

Ezra chuckled as Aria slapped his hands away and buried her head further into his chest. His heart fluttered at having her so close again. A second later, however, Aria sat bolt up and leapt off the couch. She didn't turn around, staring rigidly out of his window instead.

"Are you okay?" Ezra asked, standing up also. Aria turned around and Ezra was startled to see that tears were falling down her face. He rushed forward but stopped when she took large steps backwards from him.

A sob escaped her lips and Ezra was at a loss for what to do. He figured this was something to do with falling asleep on his chest. He wondered if she felt trapped. He realised that he never really let her get over him and move on. He had been so selfish.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I shouldn't have asked this of you. I keep hurting you over and over." Aria only continued to look at him. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I think, maybe, you should stop coming over. A clean break."

Aria nodded and without a word started to gather her things together. Five minutes later she was gone.

That night Ezra turned to the bottle as he tried to forget about the pain that came with watching the love of his life walk away from him for the last time. He raided his liquor cabinet drinking straight spirits and wine and whatever else he could find until he threw up all over his bathroom. His last thought as he passed out next to a puddle if his own vomit was that he lost her and _it was entirely his fault. _

* * *

It took Aria exactly two weeks to realise that there was no way she could stay away from Ezra. She knew that it was unhealthy to be this dependent on him, especially after everything he had lied about, but she also knew that Ezra was truly sorry for betraying her like that. Plus it was entirely futile to ignore him when she saw him everyday in school.

She knew that they never really tried hard enough to be friends - they had fallen back into their old routine with the only thing missing being a kiss at the end of the night or a sleepover between the sheets. They lived under the pretence of being friends whilst being a couple in every other way.

So, with that in mind, she called him. There was only three months left until graduation and she was going to live them with no regrets.

"Aria?"

"Hi."

* * *

"I have a date."

Ezra looked up from the menu he had been perusing to look at Aria who was sat fidgeting on his couch. His fists clenched automatically at her sudden announcement. It had been two weeks since she rang him and he had thought that they were moving forward. Evidently, he had been wrong.

"Oh?" He asked, cursing his voice for raising an octave. He tried to sound casual, like her having a date wasn't earth-shattering news to him. They were _just_ friends after all. Although he was quite sure that people who were just friends didn't spend cosy Saturday nights in watching Friends reruns and eating Chinese, and didn't call each other every night just to see how their day was. "Who with?"

Aria eyed him cautiously before replying, "His name is David. He was in for a shoot with Laurel and we got talking. He asked me to dinner and I said yes."

"That's great!" Ezra said, forcing enthusiasm into his voice. He suspected Aria saw straight through his façade. He turned back to the menu, trying to decide between the duck or the beef - although he found that his appetite was somewhat diminished.

"You're not my boyfriend," Aria spoke up again. Ezra didn't look up from the menu.

"I know."

* * *

Ezra only saw Aria once outside of the classroom over the following three weeks. She stopped calling him each day and only replied to his texts with short replies. If felt a lot more real than when she'd been seeing Jake.

He saw David with her around town once or twice. He was her age, he was tall, he was athletic looking. Ezra hated the guy.

Ezra was acutely aware that Aria's graduation day was looming on the horizon. Soon enough she would be gone and he'd never see her again. The thought was driving him crazy.

But he had to let her go.

* * *

A month later, Aria called him and asked if they could go somewhere. He accepted without hesitation and together they drove into Philly. Ezra knew better than to bring her to the cabin.

Instead, they found a quirky Thai vegan place. It was hidden between a bookstore and a vintage clothing shop. It was perfect for them.

Once their food arrived, an awkward silence settled between them. They hated it.

"How's David?" Ezra asked after a few minutes.

"He's good," Aria replied, "Things are going really well with him. I'm happy."

"That's good," Ezra said, forcing a smile onto his face, "I'm happy for you."

"No, you're not," Aria sighed. She was about to say that she could read him like a book but stopped herself for a myriad of reasons.

"No," Ezra conceded, "I'm not. But I'm glad you've been able to move on. I wasn't good for you." He hated that Aria didn't correct him. She knew it too.

"What about you? Is there anyone in your life right now?" She asked. Was he imagining it or did it look like she didn't want to know the answer?

"No," he confessed, "It's going to take me a bit longer to move on." In fact, it hadn't even occurred him to start dating again. He still considered himself to be in a relationship.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Aria shot back, slamming her chopsticks down on the table, "Are you implying that I moved on too quickly?" Ezra's mind flashed back to Aria puking in his bathroom from taking the morning after pill. She'd had sex with somebody after less than a month and a part of him was slightly disgusted - even if it had been his own actions that caused the rebound. He wondered briefly if she was sleeping with David but decided that he didn't want to know the answer.

"No, just that... What I did, the way I lied to you, it, well, it gave you an opportunity to fall out of love with me. I don't think that it's possible for me to fall out of love with you." He spoke honesty, not even attempting to hide his feelings from her.

"I'm not..." Aria began, "I mean, I haven't... You're still..." She looked up at him helplessly and he nodded, understanding what she had been trying to say.

"Aria, why did you call me today?" He asked. He watched her carefully as she considered her answer.

"I got into a college," she announced. Ezra looked at her expectantly. He knew that she had gotten into NYU already. "Do you remember what you said about Vassar being too close to home?" He nodded. "Well, with everything that has happened I think I get that. So I've accepted a place in UCLA."

Aria watched as Ezra's face dropped. She hadn't done it to hurt him, but she needed to get as far away from Rosewood as possible.

She needed that clean break.

* * *

Aria's graduation day came and went. She and Ezra hadn't spoken since their dinner in Philadelphia, and he wasn't sure if they would ever speak again. He missed her, he missed her more than he knew possible and it absolutely destroyed him that he had lost her.

As the summer months went by, Ezra considered ringing her so many times but couldn't bring himself to do it. He had no right to barge into her life and try winning her back. She was still dating David but he knew from their conversation at the restaurant that David was staying in Rosewood when Aria moved to LA.

The day before Aria left for Los Angeles, Aria found herself knocking on the door of apartment 3B one more time. Ezra had received a text from her stating that she was on her way over and immediately pulled open the door to let her into his apartment.

They stood staring at each other for several moments until neither could take it anymore. Their lips met in a hungry kiss. They stumbled to the bed, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake.

When Ezra woke up, she was gone.

* * *

**Originally, I had planned on a different ending but I liked this one so much that I just couldn't part with it. I _have _written an additional scene/alternate ending which some of you may prefer so if a lot of you want it, I'll upload it. It's only a hundred words, but it ties things up a little more.**

**I'm aware that this isn't some of my best work, but bear in mind that I wrote it in the notes on my phone whilst in work.**

**Let me know what you think, anyway! :)**

**-Katie**


	2. Chapter 2

**I was genuinely shocked that so many people liked that story! I really didn't think it was that good but I'm glad you guys liked it. Here's the extra scene/alternate ending - hope you like it too!**

* * *

A week later, Ezra got a call from a High School in Los Angeles offering him a job. He had applied for the position two days after Aria had told him she was moving there. It was a move born out of desperation and he almost turned it down. But he would do anything to be with Aria, even if only to be in the same city as her.

Two weeks after that, he packed up his apartment in Rosewood and moved across the country. 3B had never felt the same since Aria had walked out of his life.

Another two weeks after his move, Ezra was walking by a coffee shop when he spotted a familiar brown head inside the window. He came to a halt and stared into the café, watching Aria as she read her book and stirred her coffee absentmindedly. She looked up and spotted him. For a moment she didn't react but then a huge smile, a _real_ smile spread across her face.

"That's the thing about clean breaks," Aria would tell him three weeks later as they lay panting on their new sacred ground, "They heal the best."

* * *

**Told you it wasn't long but it definitely gives the story a happier spin :)**


End file.
